Mixing and application device

ABSTRACT

A device for mixing and applying mixed material, in particular medical cement, comprising a cartridge cylinder ( 1 ), a mixer ( 2 ), a plunger ( 3 ) for closing the mixed material cavity ( 10 ) and for forcing out the mixed material from the cartridge cylinder and a locking ring ( 4 ) with radially outer and inner locking means ( 41, 42 ). 
     The cartridge cylinder ( 1 ) has counter-hooks ( 14 ) as first counter-locking means, which interact with the radially outer locking means ( 41 ) of the locking ring ( 4 ). The plunger ( 3 ) has locking hooks ( 37 ) as second counter-locking means ( 37 ), which interact with the inner locking means ( 42 ) of the locking ring ( 4 ), in order to hold the plunger ( 3 ) during the mixing and release the plunger ( 3 ) for displacement at the beginning of the application operation.

The invention relates to a device for mixing and applying mixed material, in particular medical cement, and comprises a cartridge cylinder with a mixed material cavity, a filling end and an outlet end, a mixer with an actuating rod, a mixing paddle and a grip, a plunger for closing the mixed material cavity at the filling end during the mixing and for forcing out the mixed material through the outlet end during the application, and a holding element for temporarily fastening the plunger to the filling end.

Such a device is known from EP 1 278 488 B1. The device serves for preparing a pasty, flowable composition from a liquid component and a powdered component, which set with a time delay during mixing. In the case of medical cement, also known as bone cement, the mixing operation and the application of the medical cement must take place under sterile conditions, which leads to certain constraints on the design of the device. Even if the device is used only once and then disposed of, all the components must be easily accessible for sterilisation. For this reason, structural forms that are as simple as possible are desired. A further requirement in the case of such devices is for simple handling, in order to avoid the risk of errors.

The previously known device (EP 1 278 488 B1) has a closure cap, to lock the plunger on the filling end of the cartridge cylinder before the mixing operation is commenced. When the mixed material is to be applied, the closure cap must be removed in order to unlock the plunger. The closure cap consequently represents a holding element for temporarily fastening the plunger to the filling end, an element which has to be removed.

The invention is based on the object of simplifying a mixing and application device of the type stated at the beginning in its structural design and handling.

To achieve this object, the holding element is formed as a locking ring with radially outer and inner locking means. In order to hold the locking ring, the filling end of the cartridge cylinder has first counter-locking means, which interact with the outer locking means of the locking ring when the plunger closes the mixed material cavity. The plunger also has second counter-locking means, which interact with the inner locking means of the locking ring, in order to hold the plunger during the mixing but release it at the beginning of the application operation, so that the plunger can be pushed forwards by means of an applicator and the mixed material forced out through the outlet end of the cartridge cylinder.

The interaction of the locking ring with the filling end of the cartridge cylinder on the one hand and the plunger on the other hand is such that the plunger with the locking ring attached can be fitted manually into the filling end of the cartridge cylinder with a locking-in action, but the locking fit between the locking ring and the plunger is so strong that the plunger is not displaced into the interior of the mixed material cavity when it is manually fitted in this way. Only the applicator is capable of overcoming the holding force of the locking engagement between the locking ring and the plunger, in order then to use the plunger for forcing the mixed material out of the mixed material cavity.

The plunger has an annular receiving groove for the locking ring, which is fitted with a ring portion into this receiving groove in a snapping-in manner. For this purpose, the wall of the locking groove is formed so as to yield and has locking hooks which can resiliently yield because of the yielding nature of the wall. The yielding nature of the wall is produced by slits in the plunger wall in the region of the locking groove, the length of the slits providing the designer with a means for setting the resiliently yielding nature of the locking hooks to the correct amount. For example, the locking-holding force of the locking ring on the plunger is chosen to be stronger than the force that is required for fitting the plunger together with the locking ring onto the filling end of the cartridge cylinder. This ensures that, when the plunger together with the locking ring is fitted on the filling end of the cartridge cylinder, the plunger is not unintentionally pressed too far into the interior of the mixed material cavity.

In order to lock the plunger on the filling end of the cartridge cylinder by means of the locking ring, the filling end of the cartridge cylinder has a flanged ring, the radial extent of which is greater than the wall of the cartridge cylinder. As a result, an annular cavity with a diameter greater than that of the mixed material cavity is formed, and this annular cavity is constricted by hook-shaped projections, behind which an annular hook formation of the locking ring comes to lie when the plunger with the attached locking ring is pressed into the filling end of the cartridge cylinder.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is described on the basis of the drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 shows the individual parts of the mixing and application device in an exploded representation,

FIG. 2 shows a locking ring, cut through,

FIG. 3 shows an enlarged representation of the locking ring cross section,

FIG. 4 shows a longitudinal section through the mixing and application device,

FIG. 5 shows an enlarged representation of the filling end of the device,

FIG. 6 shows an enlarged representation of the plunger of the device and

FIG. 7 shows a further enlarged sectional representation of the engagement of the locking ring on the filling end and on the plunger of the device.

FIG. 1 shows the individual parts of the device and FIG. 4 shows the assembly. To be mentioned as main parts of the device are a cartridge cylinder 2, a mixture 2, a plunger 3 and a locking ring 4. The cartridge cylinder 1 has a mixed material cavity 10, a filling end 11 and an outlet end 12. Associated with the outlet end is a screw closure (not represented), also referred to as a base, which after the mixing of the mixed material is exchanged for an application tube, also referred to as a snorkel.

The mixer 2 comprises an actuating rod 21, a mixing paddle 22 at the front end and a grip 23 at the rear end. The mixing paddle 22 has sector-shaped through-openings, through which the mixed material is forced during the turning and moving back and forth of the actuating rod, and is thereby mixed.

The plunger 3 comprises a plunger body 30, which can best be seen from FIG. 6, also (see FIGS. 1 and 4) a large O-ring 31 for sealing at the cavity 10, a small O-ring 32 for sealing at the actuating rod 21, a filter disk 33, a small clip ring 34 and a large clip ring 35. After placing the O-rings 31, 32 and the filter disk 33 in corresponding receiving grooves on the inner ends of the plunger body 30 (at the bottom in FIG. 6), the clip rings 34, 35 are fitted onto the plunger body 30, in order to fix and fasten the O-rings and the filter disk on the plunger. On the outer end (at the top in FIG. 6), the plunger also has a suction connection piece 36, which leads to a space inside the plunger and on which the filter disk 33 is placed. The suction connection serves the purpose of sucking troublesome air in the mixing space 10 away through the filter disk 33, while the mixed material is held back in the mixed material cavity by the filter disk 33.

The locking ring 4 serves for the temporary fastening of the plunger 3 to the filling end 11 of the cartridge cylinder 1. For this purpose, the locking ring 4 has radially outer, annular locking means 41 and radially inner, annular locking means 42, which in the cross section of the locking ring respectively appear as a hook formation 41 and as a cylindrical ring portion 42 with an insertion bevel (see FIGS. 3 and 7). The locking means 41, 42 are separated from each other by a groove 40 and thereby assume a resilient yielding nature, which is useful when fitting the locking ring.

FIG. 5 shows a view of the filling end 11 of the cartridge cylinder 1. The latter has an edge flange 13, on the inner side of which a ring of counter-hooks 14 are located as counter-locking means for the hook formations 41 of the locking ring 4. Under the respective counter-hooks 14 there are slit-shaped slide openings 15, which are required to form the underside of the counter-hooks 14. These slits 15 open out on a placement edge 16, which forms a stop for the locking ring 4.

FIG. 6 provides a view of the outer end of the plunger body 30. The wall parts of the plunger body that are the upper wall parts in FIG. 6 are formed as resilient locking hooks 37, which are provided with insertion bevels and form the counter-locking means for the inner locking means 42 of the locking ring 4. The resiliently yielding nature of the locking hooks 37 is determined by the number and depth of axial slits 38, which subdivide the plunger wall that is the upper plunger wall in FIG. 6. Under the locking hooks 37 there is a peripheral groove 39 for receiving the locking means 42 of the locking ring 4 when the latter is coupled onto the plunger 3. The plunger body 30 also has a radial separating wall 50, through which the suction connection piece 36 reaches and which butts against the outer annular wall of the plunger in the region of a circumferential groove 51, which is formed to avoid accumulation of material. The separating wall lies outside the range of the slits 38.

FIG. 7 shows the interaction of the locking ring 4 with the filling end 11 of the cartridge cylinder 1 and with the locking hooks 37 of the plunger 3. For fitting, the locking ring 4 is placed onto the locking hooks 37 of the plunger 3 and, by applying axially acting force to the locking ring, made to snap into the groove 39 behind the locking hooks 37. The radial extent of the cylindrical ring portion 42 determines by greater or lesser overlapping with the locking hook 37, to be chosen in the structural design, the holding force with which the locking ring 4 is held on the plunger 3. By placing the hook formations 41 of the locking ring 4 on the insertion bevel of the resilient counter-hooks 14 and pressing them axially together, the hook formations 41 snap in behind the counter-hooks 14 and hold the locking ring 4 together with the plunger 3 fitted on it on the filling end 11 of the cartridge cylinder 1. Here, too, the fitting forces can be made to match requirements by choosing the radial dimension of the hook formations 41 to be greater or smaller.

For medical applications, the mixing and application device is supplied in sterilized, ready-fitted-together structural units, namely the cartridge cylinder 1 with the attached base as a closure at the outlet end 12, the mixer 2 with the secured plunger 3 together with the placed-on locking ring 4, the components of the medical cement (bone cement) in appropriate containers, a filling funnel and an application tube (snorkel), these components being packed in a sterile form in a dish or a bag. The equipment also includes a suction pump and an applicator gun for pushing the plunger forwards and forcing the mixed material out of the cartridge cylinder.

The mixing and application device is handled as follows:

The cartridge cylinder is filled with the material to be mixed. The suction pump is connected to the suction connection piece 36, and the mixer 2 together with the plunger 3 is inserted into the filling end of the cartridge cylinder. The applied negative pressure is helpful during the fitting of the plunger 3 as a closure of the filling end, i.e. not much force has to be exerted to make the locking ring snap with its hook formation 41 in behind the resilient counter-hooks 14. By evacuating excess air and any vapors from the mixed material cavity 10, the mixed material is prepared for mixing. The mixing is performed by turning and pushing back and forth the mixing paddle 22 inside the mixed material cavity. After intimate mixing, the mixing paddle is brought to bear against the inner side of the plunger and the actuating rod 21 is broken off in such a way that the mixed material cavity remains closed. Then the cartridge cylinder can be placed onto the applicator gun, the closure base is removed and the applicator tube is instead screwed onto the outlet end. If appropriate, the applicator tube is shortened. Then the applicator gun can be actuated, pressure being exerted on the plunger 3 and tension exerted on the flange 13 of the cartridge cylinder. As a result, the holding force of the locking ring 4, with which the plunger 3 is held on the filling end 11 of the cartridge cylinder, is overcome. The plunger 3 together with the broken-off end of the actuating rod 21 inserted in it can then be displaced by the applicator gun in the direction of the outlet end 12 of the cartridge cylinder, in order to bring the mixed material to a suitable location through the applicator tube.

It is consequently evident that the novel mixing and application device has with the locking ring 4 a holding element for temporarily fastening the plunger to the filling end that need not be unlocked before attaching the applicator gun. This dispenses with the need for a locking bar that is otherwise required in the prior art (EP 1 278 488 B1) and with the need for the operation of actuating and removing the locking bar. 

1. A device for mixing and applying mixed material, comprising: a cartridge cylinder (1) with a mixed material cavity (10), a filling end (11) and an outlet end; a mixer (2) with an actuating rod (21), a mixing paddle (27) and a grip (23); a plunger (3) for closing the mixed material cavity (10) at the filling end (11) during the mixing and for forcing out the mixed material through the outlet end (12) during the application; and a holding element for temporarily fastening the plunger (3) to the filling end (11); in which the holding element is formed as a locking ring (4) with radially outer and inner locking means (41, 42); the filling end (11) of the cartridge cylinder (1) has first counter-locking means (14), which interact with the outer locking means (41) of the locking ring (4) when the plunger (3) closes the mixed material cavity (10); and the plunger (3) has second counter-locking means (37), which interact with the inner locking means (42) of the locking ring (4), in order to hold the plunger (3) during the mixing and release the plunger (3) for displacement at the beginning of the application operation.
 2. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer locking means (41) of the locking ring (4) has a ring portion with a hook formation in cross section, and wherein the first counter-locking means (14) of the cartridge cylinder (1) form a ring of counter-hooks, which are formed with insertion bevels to facilitate fitting of the locking ring (4).
 3. The device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the ring of counter-hooks (14) is provided on the inner side of a flanged ring (13), which is arranged on the filling end (11) of the cartridge cylinder (1) and, with a placement edge (16), adjoins the mixed material cavity (10).
 4. The device as claimed in claim 3, wherein each counter-hook (14) is assigned a radially-extending slit opening (15) in the flanged ring (13).
 5. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inner locking means (42) of the locking ring (4) form a cylindrical ring portion with an insertion bevel, which is separated from the outer locking means (41) of the locking ring (4) by a groove (40), and wherein the second counter-locking means (37) of the plunger (3) form resilient locking hooks, which are provided with insertion bevels, are formed from parts of the wall of the plunger (3) and define a receiving groove (39) for the cylindrical ring portion (42) of the locking ring (4).
 6. The device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the resilient locking hooks (37) are separated from one another by axial slits (38) in the outer wall of the plunger (3), the number and length of the slits (38) being chosen with a view to the desired resilient property of the locking hooks (37).
 7. The device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the plunger (3) has a radial separating wall (50), which is located at a greater distance from the locking hooks (37) than corresponds to the length of the slits (38), and wherein the plunger (3) has in the plane of the separating wall (50) on its outer circumference a groove (51) to avoid accumulation of material. 